BRIMLEY — Cedarville has reigned unbeaten over Eastern U.P. Conference boys basketball for six years.

That winning streak appeared to be in some jeopardy but was extended to 51 league games Thursday night at the Karl Parker Gym.

Unbeaten in the EUPC since 2006, the Trojans had to weather the storm against the Brimley Bays, escaping with a 71-66 win.

The Trojans started the game with seven players and had to finish with five. Cedarville sophomore Brad Causley went down with an apparent ankle injury just before halftime and he did not return. Senior Derek Griffin fouled out early in the fourth quarter, leaving the Trojans with five players to finish the game.

"Both teams played hard and it was a good EUP matchup," Cedarville coach Dave Duncan said. "We had to overcome foul trouble and hold on at the end. Our kids hung in there and didn't get shook. They held it together."

Tommy Aikens paced the Bays with 18 points, which included 14 in the first half. Shane Beaune scored 17 points and added six rebounds, while Dan Lothrop scored 14 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Bays (1-1 overall, 0-1 Eastern U.P.).

The Bays got within 59-55 after a pair of free throws from Lothrop and a layup from Dakota Bowen with just over five minutes remaining.

That was as close as the Bays could get. Todd Hecht hit a 3-pointer and Keith Bouschor scored five straight points as the Trojans pushed their lead back to 67-58. Brimley could not get closer than five again.

"He (Bouschor) played big for us," Duncan said. "We really needed that from him tonight.

"You want battles to make your team better," Duncan said. "We knew Brimley has a nice team. It was a great game for early in the year. Normally you don't get these kinds of games until after the holidays. The fans got their money's worth."

The Trojans began the game with a 10-0 run, taking advantage of several fastbreak chances.

While they recovered from that early deficit, the Bays could never quite catch the Trojans.

"We played good at times, but we had way too many turnovers and we gave up too many rebounds," Brimley coach Matt Bathey said. "They beat us on the boards, and that shouldn't happen.

"We know we can play with them," Bathey said. "We talked about what Cedarville would do all week and they did what we expected. But we didn't execute what we practiced. We panicked and didn't play like we're capable of. We played OK, but not good enough."

Page 2 of 2 - Cedarville's bench will be deeper in the second half of the season. The Trojans will gain 6-foot-5 Sault Ste. Marie transfer Dan Stenback on Jan. 21.